Company
by Lady Lychee
Summary: When a blizzard separates survivors from their groups, they each find a cabin. They decide to band together and wait out the storm in the cabin despite the tension between a few occupants. With so much time on their hands, will these kids be able to be kids in the midst of the apocalypse? Join Ben, Arvo, Travis, Sarah, Becca, Duck, Clementine, Gill, and AJ as they enjoy the company
1. Cabin

**I don't like putting author notes in stories, but this one called for one. I am very sorry for the problems that arose when I first published this. It looked fine to me and I wasn't aware that it had screwed up somewhere. I am very sorry for the trouble. I hope you can enjoy my story despite it. **

** Lady Lychee**

* * *

><p>Isolation was terrifying. The blinding whiteness even hid the hand that Clementine held in front of her face. She kept quiet as the wind howled around her, fearing that she would call the attention of any walkers nearby. Where could Christa have gone? She wrapped an arm around herself, her other extended as it held her pistol, q. There was a dark object in the near distance. As she squinted her eyes to try to peer through the snow, her thoughts raced. Was it a horde of walkers? Was it shelter? She trudged toward it as quickly as she could, hoping for the latter. She stumbled into the snow and grunted as she began to roll down an unseen hill.<p>

Clementine shielded her head and gripped her pistol as tightly as she could, trying to protect both. She cried out as she bounced against various unseen rocks, stumps, and roots. She quickly landed at the bottom with a groan, her breath shaking. She slowly sat up and moved as much of her body as she could. Was anything broken? No, but her shoulder burned as she tried to move it. She groaned in pain before she realized that she had dropped her pistol. Was it anywhere near her? She patted around the snow, her hands numb against the icy shards. Her foot knocked against something small and solid, and she smiled in relief. She picked it up and stood slowly.

She looked up and saw a light from the large object. It was a cabin, she realized. She stumbled toward it, her left shoulder protesting each step. As she stepped onto the porch, she noticed that there were footprints in the snow in front of the door. She drew her pistol and ignored her shoulder.

The door was shut. Clementine blinked in surprise as she heard muffled voices behind the door, though she couldn't make out what they were saying. She reconsidered the pistol and slipped it into her back pocket before knocking on the door and schooled her expression into sadness. Although no one had taught her this trick- even though it was a dirty one-, she knew that adults would always help a sad, lost, little girl. She looked up with the best lost-puppy expression she could muster when the door opened.

The faces that looked back weren't adults.

"Hands up or he'll shoot." Came a girl's voice. Clementine immediately raised her hands, her expression one of confusion. A teenage girl wearing a yellow jacket stood in front of her, her arms crossed while a teenage boy wearing a purple jacket aimed a revolver at her.

"Oh, it's just another kid." The girl frowned, "Do you have any guns on you?"

Clementine nodded. The girl looked to someone out of Clementine's sight."Gill, go grab the kid's gun."

A young, African-American boy, who seemed to be Clementine's age, ran out from behind the duo. He smiled apologetically at Clementine.

"Cool hat."

Clementine decided not to respond.

"Come on. Just let us stay here until the storm blows over. Then we'll leave you and your boyfriend alone!" A male voice pleaded. He sounded oddly familiar to Clementine, though she couldn't place the voice.

"Boyfriend?!" The girl raised the pistol and pointed it to the man. "This guy isn't my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend, brother, random guy you met, I don't care. Just please let us stay!"

"Hey," Clementine took a slow step toward the duo, noting the teenage boy's shaking hand, his blue eyes fearful behind his cracked glasses, "Just calm down. There's a blizzard going on outside. You really don't want to send us back outside, do you? Just let us all stay until the storm clears up. We'll leave as soon as it does. Besides, we can split whatever supplies we have. It'll be fine." The girl in the yellow jacket looked as if she were about to respond, but was interrupted by the wailing of a baby.

"AJ, shh!" A different girl's voice cooed.

"You have a baby with you?" The teenage boy, his words lengthened by his accent, looked toward the source of the crying.

"Yeah? See, you can't send us all out with a baby. It'd die." Clementine began to slowly lower her hands. "You don't want to kill a baby, do you?"

"C'mon, Becca. Let's just let 'em all stay. We found this place anyway. They have a baby!" Gill tugged on the girl's sleeve.

Becca sighed, "Fine. But if anything happens, you're all outside." She lowered Clementine's pistol and offered it back to her. There was a collective sigh of relief.

Clementine took her pistol with a smile, "Thanks." Becca responded with a sigh and walked back to a rocking chair near a lit fireplace.

The teenage boy didn't lower his pistol, however, until Becca looked up. "Arvo, it's okay. They can stay." She spoke slowly and gestured down. He lowered his pistol and nervously ran a hand through his short brown hair, nodding in an apology to the large group and slipped his pistol back into his waistband.

"Sorry."


	2. Friends

Clementine sighed in relief as she turned away from the teenager, who retreated to the large window near the front door. She slipped her own pistol into her waistband. It would probably be good to figure out where she was and who these people were. Hopefully, one of them could help her get back to Christa, she thought as she glanced out the window.

The snow and wind swirled in a dance as it covered everything in a thick blanket. It would be impossible to move through without freezing to death. On the bright side, there would not be any walkers that they would have to worry about. She shivered as the snow began to melt in the warm room. Well, once the weather dies down, she thought as she tore her gaze away.

"Thanks for saving us." The familiar male voice said.

"Don't mention it." Clementine smiled as she turned around. As her gaze fell upon the large group that she had blindly defended, her eyes widened in shock. A tall teenage boy with brown hair and in a blue and white letterman jacket smiled sheepishly at her, "Ben!"

"Hey, uh, Clementine. Long time no see." He tensed in surprise as she hugged him, but didn't reject the gesture.

After she pulled away, another person pulled her into a hug, "Clem! You're here, too!" Duck grinned at her.

"I thought you guys were dead!" Clementine's voice cracked, "Wait, does that mean Kenny and Katjaa are still alive?"

"Mmhm! Mom and Dad are still okay." Duck grinned as he released his friend. "How's Omid and Christa and Lee?"

Clementine's smile faded as she looked down, "It's just Christa and me."

Ben's expression changed into worry and sorrow. "What do you mean? ...d-did something happen...?" She nodded and grief distorted their expressions.

"I didn't think that Lee would… Shit, man…" Ben briefly pressed his palms against his eyes, "I'm sorry, Clem. Omid, too?" He slowly moved them to watch her response.

Clem nodded silently.

"What happened?"

Her voice cracked again, "When we separated from you guys, we went north for a while. Lee got bit protecting me. Omid got shot when someone tried to rob us. Lost Christa in the blizzard." The rest were silent as they regarded the dire fates that Omid and Lee had met.

"What about your hair?" Travis, Ben's friend, asked with a forced smirk in an attempt to lighten the mood. His black hair had been pushed back as it usually was, though it was a bit longer now.

Clementine frowned. "Lee cut it. Remember how I used to get grabbed a lot? Now it's too short to grab and it's a lot safer now." She smiled at each of her old friends, however. "I can't believe you're all alive."

Clementine's gaze wandered and she noticed a new addition to the group; a girl with dark hair and red glasses who hid shyly behind Ben. She held a bundle in her arms, which Clementine guessed was the baby.

"Oh, this is Sarah. She joined up with us when another group came to our lodge. A woman in her group had a baby. His name is... what was it, again?" Ben nudged her forward.

"AJ." Sarah responded quietly before stepping in front of Clementine. "So you're the Clementine that they used to talk about? That's so cool! You're like a living legend! You're shorter than I thought, though. But since there's only three girls here, maybe we could be friends!"

"You're only staying as long as you need to, Sarah." Becca replied with a frown.

"You know each other?" Clementine looked at the girls.

"We used to be in the same camp." Becca made a sour face at the memory, "Wasn't the funnest."

Sarah looked hurt. Clementine offered a smile, "Don't worry about her. We can still be friends."

"Really?" Sarah grinned.

"Really." Clementine looked at AJ, who had fallen asleep, "Aw, he's so cute. How old is he?"

"I don't really know. Like, a month old or something."

"He's really little." Clementine regarded him curiously. "How have you been feeding him?"

"His mom breastfeeds him and I have some formula in my backpack. Wanna hold him?" Sarah lifted the bundle, offering it to Clementine. She smiled and held the baby carefully.

"Wow! He's not crying! You must be good at this. He always cries when I hold him." Duck grinned.

"Well, I got to take care of Christa's baby before…"

"Christa had a baby?"

"She did, well, before..."

" 'Before?' "

Clementine bit her lip and looked down, "Before what happens to everyone, I guess."

"You've been through some tough shit, Clem." Ben rubbed her shoulder, "But hey, if anything, you can join us at the lodge when this is all done."

"Thanks," She smiled. She returned the baby to Sarah and looked around cautiously. "It might be a good idea to try to get on these guys' good side. This is probably their cabin. I'm going to go talk to the girl over there and figure out what we have. This storm might last a while." She walked off and the rest of the group nodded. They set off in different directions.

Travis immediately pulled Ben over. "Listen, dude, let's see if we can talk to that guy." He motioned to Arvo, "He could help us. Besides, you don't want to be stuck around a bunch of kids, do you?"

"Well, Clem's cool."

"She's, like, eleven."

"So what?"

"So she's a kid. I just don't get you, man. Let's just talk to this guy, okay?"

"Fine." Ben followed his friend over to the window, where Arvo stood watch. He seemed to be a nervous sort of person, though not as nervous as Sarah. Ben's gaze drifted down to his leg brace. He absentmindedly wondered why Arvo needed it, half aware that he probably shouldn't stare. Actually, once Ben thought about it, it was funny that he was worried about being glanced at Travis nervously.

"Hey, man." Travis cautiously put his hand on Arvo's shoulder, "Sorry about that. Thanks for letting us hang out here, though. I'm Travis. This here is Ben."

Arvo's thick brows furrowed slightly, as if thinking hard. He spoke after a moment, "You're welcome."

"What's your name?"

"I, uh, I am Arvo." He offered a worried smile, "My English.. is not very good. I'm sorry."

"That's okay, man. So you're not from here. Where'd you come from? How'd you get here?"

" Россия.. Uh, Russia. I came here as student."

"Like a foreign exchange student?" Travis raised his brow.

"Yes. But not exchange. Transfer."

"Dude, didn't you take, like, a semester of Russian?" Travis asked Ben. Arvo seemed to brighten at this.

Ben rubbed his neck self consciously, "Yeah, but I don't remember anything."

"I can teach you." Arvo offered with an awkward smile. "And you teach me English, yes?"

"Sure. It's a deal."

"So you came at the wrong time." Travis leaned against the wall, "D'ya have any idea how Russia is right now?"

Arvo looked down, his expression sullen, "No."

"Got any family here?"

Arvo looked out the window again, squinting as if trying to see through the storm. He muttered in Russian, his tone sad.

"Or anyone here?"

Arvo looked up, his brows furrowed as he tried to form the correct words. His lip quivered. "My sister. She came with me until… the storm. I am very worried.."

"Did she get hurt?" Travis looked up.

"My sister is very sick. She is in much pain, which makes her cry and makes those things come. I do not know where she is and she doesn't have her medicine. I am thinking.. she might be.." A tear rolled down his cheek.

Ben put a hand on Travis' shoulder, "Sorry. We'll, uh, talk to you later." He turned his friend away and guided him to the large couch.

"The hell, man?" Travis crossed his arms.

"He looked like he was gonna cry, Travis. You don't keep asking people about their shit when they're upset."

"The fuck else was I gonna do?" Travis crossed his arms as he slumped into the chair. Ben sighed and sat beside his friend.

Gill watched the two older teenagers wearily. They had gotten Arvo to say more than he had. If only he were older, then he could talk to them. The new girl with the blue hat was kind of scary and he knew that Becca wouldn't be happy if he befriended Sarah. Maybe he could be friends with Duck.

"Hey," Gill said timidly. "Sorry about Becca. She just gets really worried about stuff sometimes, y'know?"

"It's okay." Duck grinned, "I'm Duck."

"Gill."

"Gill. Cool name. Hey, so, do you live here?" Duck looked around, "'Cause this place looks like you've been in here for a while."

Gill shook his head, "Nah. Actually, Becca found me in the blizzard. We found Arvo here first. He said he found this place, too. It's pretty nice, huh?"

Duck nodded, "Yeah and there's a fireplace, too! But the place we came from, there was a wind..mill thing that gave us electricity! We had a Christmas tree and everything."

"Electricity?! A Christmas tree?!" Gill regarded Duck with awe, "That's so cool. Wish we had power."

"It's actually really cool. And we found a TV, too! There were some movies and we'd all get into this one room and we'd watch movies. It's kind of like how it was before."

"I wish I could watch a movie again."

"It's pretty cool. Except, I dunno if it's because of.. the walkers, but the movies are kinda dumb now."

"Really?"

"Yeah, 'cause, the people in the movie don't know what they're doing and it all looks super fake."

"That sucks."

"Yeah, it's really stupid." Duck looked up and waved at Clementine, who had been talking with Becca.

Clementine turned back toward Becca, who had been tending to the fireplace. "So, you said that there's a room with food in the basement? Have you tried getting into it?"

"Yeah, we tried for hours before you guys got here. It's locked up tight. I can't get into it because it's locked up in three places. One's on the top of the door, one in the middle, and one at the bottom. We got the bottom one open, but not the other ones."

"Couldn't, uh, that guy over there help you?" Clementine gestured to Arvo, who had apparently calmed down and continued chatting with Travis and Ben.

"He tried. He's a cripple and it hurt him to try to get the other two. We had to give up." She looked up, "But now that you guys are here, maybe we can get it open. The food could help us, since there's a lot of us and the food we have right now wouldn't last us a day."

Clementine nodded thoughtfully, "Can we go see the place? Maybe there's even more stuff we can get, too."

"It's, like, night now, I think. We could barely see earlier, when it was kinda light out. Unless you got a flashlight, I don't think so."

She reached into her back pocket and held up a lighter, "Would this work?"

"Probably," Becca stood up, "Let's go. Hey, Gill, we're going downstairs. Keep watch. Shout if you need anything."

Gill gave her a thumbs up and the two opened the door the cellar. Clementine flicked the lighter on and started to carefully climb down the rickety stairs. It was hard to see anything in the darkness beyond the dim light of the lighter. It was freezing, and although it was good for the food, it quickly made the girls' teeth chatter.

"See the shiny thing over there?" Becca pointed to a faint glint in the corner of the large cellar. "That's where it is, I think."

"How do you know that there's food in there?" Clementine watched her breath freeze in the air in front of her.

"When we busted the first lock, Gill saw some cans inside. Hopefully, they're not bad." Becca held her hands in front of her to feel blindly for the large door of the room that held the food. Eventually, her hands hit a cold, metal object with a thunk. "Here."

Clementine slowly inched her way toward Becca when her something knocked into her head. "Ow!"

"What?"

"I hit something." She rubbed her head and held the lighter toward the object that hung above her.

The light shone on a dull, metallic object that reflected the meager light source. Clementine reached up, pushing it up and off of a hook. The sudden weight nearly made her drop it, but she caught it at the last second with a grin. It was an vintage looking lantern. The top and bottom was copper coloured and the glass, although dirty, was free of cracks. There was a ring at the top which she could use to hold it. It was pretty, but ultimately useless. She was about to put it down when something inside of the lantern caught her eye. She knelt and put the lantern down, using her free hand to feel for a latch or something to open the glass panes. She shifted the lighter and saw a latch. She lifted the top part of the latch and pulled the small pane open.

A red, slightly used candle sat in the middle.

"Hey, I can't see anything! Get over here." Becca looked back when she saw Clementine lift something. A sweet, dusty scent filled her nostrils. "What's that?"

"I found a lantern. There's a candle in it and it smells." She saw Clementine lift the lantern to her nose and sniff. "It smells like cinnamon! Reminds me of Christmas." She grinned.

"Cool. Now get over here so we can open this thing." Clementine skittered over to the door and placed the lantern on a nearby box. It illuminated the door and the locks on it. A padlock lay broken on the ground.

"That's the one we got open," Becca said without looking at it, "But I dunno how to get these two open."

"Maybe there's something we can pick the locks with around here." Clementine glanced at the worktable near her. She walked over to it and flicked her lighter, her gaze roaming around the dirty wood. There wasn't much more than a couple of nails that would be useful. She opened the drawer to her left and held the lighter carefully inside it. There were all sorts of loose screws, hammers, and screwdrivers. Clementine picked out the thinnest screwdriver she could find.

"Think this'll work?" She held it up to Becca in the dim light.

"Maybe."

The girls quickly got to work on the middle lock. The cold had left their fingers numb, which did not help them. The first screwdriver didn't fit, so Clementine grabbed one that seemed thinner. No luck. The two repeated this process, each one increasing their frustration. They would hold a screwdriver up to the lock, try to jam it into the mechanism after a few clumsy attempts, and soon find out that the screwdriver was much too big to fit. After about an hour, Becca threw the last screwdriver onto the ground.

"Fuck this."

Clementine sighed and looked up. "Maybe Ben and Travis can help us break these. There's probably something heavy in here."

"It's so cold down here!" The two looked up toward the stairs. Sarah stepped into the dim light, her teeth chattering and her arms wrapped around herself. "Have you guys been down here the entire time?"

"Go away, Sarah." Becca said crossly.

Clementine frowned and stepped forward, "Yeah. We've been trying to open this so we can get food. Do you have anything to pick a lock? Or can you go get Ben and Travis?"

Sarah smiled and reached into her pocket, "Oh, I have this." She held up a metal nail file, "I got this at the lodge. Maybe this could work. I'll go get them."

Clementine took it from her with a quick thanks as she ran up the stairs, calling for the two. Becca snatched the nail file away from Clementine and quickly stabbed it into the lock, jiggling it around. Clementine watched, her arms crossed in annoyance at the older girl's treatment of Sarah.

"Why are you so mean to Sarah?" 

"Because she's annoying. She's like a baby." Becca looked up without stopping, "She's not like us. Her dad said she had something that stopped her from being normal. I don't remember what it was."

"That's no reason to be so mean to her." Clementine leaned against the closet, "'Sides, if she really was different, that's just how she is."

"If she stopped acting like a little kid, I wouldn't be so-"

"Got them!" Sarah hopped off the last stair, a smile on her lips, though, even in the dim light, Clementine could see that her eyes were worried, "Were you talking about me?"

Clementine hesitated. She could tell the truth and potentially hurt Sarah's feelings, lie, or tell a half truth. She stood with a smile, "Yeah. We were just talking about how you had this. It's really helping."

Sarah brightened, "Really? I'm really glad that I grabbed it, then. I was worried since-"

"Sarah, shut up. I think I heard something." Becca held the lock up and grinned when it unlatched. She had managed to unlock it, somehow. She immediately turned her attention to

the last lock, though she sighed..

"What is it?"

"My hands are freezing and I'm tired. Here, you can do it." She tossed Clementine the nail file. "Have fun."

"How'd you get that open?" Ben asked from the darkness.

"I gave them a nail file." Sarah exclaimed happily. "I didn't think it'd work!"

"What if we can't get it open?" Clementine blinked as Becca walked toward the stairs.

"With this." Becca stepped back and picked up a hammer, tossing it to Ben, "Good luck. I'm going upstairs to warm up." She flashed a half smile at Clementine as she began to climb the stairs, "You coming?"

Clementine looked at her old friends and back at Becca. "I'll come up in a minute. I'm gonna help them a bit."

"Whatever." Becca's footsteps echoed up the stairs.

"She's something." Travis muttered as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.


End file.
